Silicon carbide thin films are promising for use in a variety of different electronic, mechanical, chemical, and acoustic applications. Silicon carbide exists in hexagonal, rhombohedral, and cubic crystal structures. Generally, numerous polytypes of the hexagonal and rhombohedral forms are collectively referred to as “Alpha-SiC,” while the cubic, zinc blende form of silicon carbide is referred to as “Beta-SiC.”
Silicon carbide is considered a superior material for high power, high temperature, and high frequency electronic devices due to its relatively large energy bandgap, high melting point, high saturated electron drift velocity, high breakdown field, high thermal conductivity, and high chemical resistance. Silicon carbide's relatively large energy bandgap also makes this material an excellent choice for fabrication of blue light-emitting diodes and electronic devices for use in radiation intensive environments.
Silicon carbide is also a promising candidate for other applications due to its superior chemical and mechanical properties. For example, silicon carbide's strong chemical resistance make it well suited for exposure to harsh chemical environments, such as in chemical sensing applications. As another example, silicon carbide's relatively high acoustic velocity and low material damping also make it promising for acoustic resonator applications.
Despite silicon carbide's exceptional chemical, electronic, mechanical, and acoustic properties, successful fabrication of silicon carbide thin films continues to pose a challenge. Therefore, there is still a need for improved fabrication techniques for manufacturing silicon carbide thin films so that its exceptional electronic, mechanical, chemical, and acoustic characteristics can be exploited.